When I first taught about wire, I got a donation of all kinds of different wire from a wire company, we used to have nearby. That in itself was fun to work with and when I brought the wire and pliers to school, the kids did not wait for instructions, but started to play. I kind of let them do their own thing and they came up with wonderful stuff - lots of line figures, animals, I was enchanted by their creativity.

Drill hole in wood scarp bases for telephone wire - Insert wire and bend to interesting shape. Add smaller wires and Beads, if desired. This could be a lesson for a fantasy tree - Foil tooling could be added.

From Christa-Maria: I Also got a box of Twisteez Wire that was color coded and had them make sculptures. (Also consider Twisteez Wire. It's safer and non-toxic)

We took a wooden block (scrounged from construction sites), drilled two holes in it, the size to accommodate a wire coat hanger. Had them cut the coat hanger into one length and bent it to their desire, then they took the telephone wire and started to weave, curl and whatever. The outcome was great.